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Wisconsin woman killed in I-80 crash

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By the Lincoln Journal Star

Tuesday, May 13, 2008 - 03:30:26 pm CDT



Authorities have released the name of a Wisconsin woman killed in one of two separate but related crashes that occurred within minutes of each other on Interstate 80 Monday shortly before 5 p.m.

Both crashes forced the closure of the westbound lanes near the Greenwood exit for about two hours, said Nebraska State Patrol spokeswoman Deb Collins.

Story Photo
Rescuers carry a victim to an awaiting helicopter on the westbound lane of Interstate 80 east of Waverly Monday evening after a multiple-vehicle accident. (Eric Gregory)

The fatality, 47-year-old Dawn Reiter of Wrightstown, Wis., was a front seat passenger in a westbound Dodge Ram pickup that struck the left rear of a semi, Collins said.

That crash occurred as the semi was stopping for a separate two-vehicle accident at mile marker 413.

In the first crash, Khayriniso Yarbabaeva, 23, of Omaha was driving east when she lost control of a 2000 Mazda Protege.

The car crossed the median and was struck on the passenger side by a westbound 2003 Volkswagen Jetta, driven by Elizabeth Swift, 25, of Yankton, S.D.

Yarbabaeva was transported by Greenwood Rescue to Saint Elizabeth Regional Medical Center in Lincoln, where she was treated and released. Swift was not injured. Both women were wearing seat belts.

The second and fatal crash occurred as traffic was slowing because of the first.

Reiter and three of her family members who were with her in the pickup were taken to BryanLGH Medical Center West — Dawn Reiter and April Reiter by medical helicopter, and Steven Reiter and Tayler Snyder by ambulance, Collins said.

Dawn Reiter’s husband and the driver of the pickup, Steven Reiter, 39, was treated and released, Collins said. April Reiter, 16, and Tayler Snyder, 20, were admitted to the hospital with nonlife-threatening injuries.

Snyder was listed in serious condition Tuesday morning. The hospital did not have any information about either of the Reiters.

The semi driver, Thomas Shutt, 48, of Logan, Iowa, was not injured.


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eric wrote on May 12, 2008 9:50 pm:
" I was on my way back from Des Moines tonight and waited in line on I-80 for about 30 minutes to get thru. Then @ the Waverly exit I saw the 2 cars that were hit and they were not pretty. Hope everybody is ok in the end. "

 kelly johnson wrote on May 12, 2008 10:29 pm:
" my heart goes out to the family, this is very sad "

 Condolences wrote on May 13, 2008 12:01 am:
" Sorry for the loss and hopefully everybody else is ok. "

 pac wrote on May 13, 2008 7:55 am:
" I drive this route everyday - and while my heart is heavy for this family, my advice to everyone is to SLOW DOWN! There is so much road construction going on and people are still flying by me at 70+ miles an hour (the speed limit on that stretch is 65 I think). "

 mike wrote on May 13, 2008 8:56 am:
" How many accidents do we need on the interstate between Lincoln and Omaha before we reduce the speed limit? Also, lowering the speed limit by 10 MPH will save approximately 15% in fuel usage. "

 Jim wrote on May 13, 2008 8:57 am:
" I hear ya PAC....if the state patrol would get out there and patrol the construction area's for speeders this kind of thing may not happen. There's signs everywhere in construction area's saying "fines for speeding doubled in work zones", but people still fly by. "

 Omaha to Lincoln wrote on May 13, 2008 10:23 am:
" Has any one noticed how the new east and west bound lanes on I-80 between Omaha and Lincoln have gotten closer to each other? Now, if you loose control and go into the median you’re almost guaranteed to cross over into the opposite direction’s lanes. Nice engineering Department of Roads you have made the interstate even more dangerous. "

 b wrote on May 13, 2008 10:33 am:
" I was about 30 sec. behind this accident on the interstate yesterday. It was truly terrible. I have to admitt I am not the most observant driver, but after seeing this accident, I will eliminate any driving distractions. Had the traffic behind the semi been more observant, the seccond and gatal accident may have been avoided. What I saw will stick with me forever. Please pray for this family. "

 warranty expired wrote on May 13, 2008 10:39 am:
" We were westbound at 413 shortly after wreck #1, very sorry to learn about what was happening behind us. I would echo pac's comment about slowing down - that stretch is 65mph, drops to 55mph at 56th St exit. In my experience, MAYBE 50% of drivers are paying attention to the limits. They all perk up though when a trooper is around. "

 Karen Lauren - Minneapolis wrote on May 13, 2008 12:25 pm:
" Let's not judge...with a vehichle entering oncoming traffic, cars trying to avoid a crash and a late afternoon sun glaring...speed may or may not have been a factor. My daughter and I were traveling home from Colorado...I am an RN and stopped to help before EMTs arrived. What a sad tragedy. Thomas I touched your shoulder and said I would pray...besides me...my boyfriend and daughter will continue to pray for all of you. "

 LincolnOmaha wrote on May 13, 2008 12:36 pm:
" I travel twice a week from the York area to Omaha and I have to say that traffic flow from Lincoln to Omaha is horrible. Just about every car that passes me exceeding the speed limit, zipping in and out and around traffic are either Omaha or Lincoln plated vehicles. I am going to assume they are commuters traveling the same path everyday trying to get home as quickly as possible. They are familiar with the road construction statis and the wicked curves(especially Waverly)- maybe giving them the mental "it's okay for me to speed"feeling. This creates a Monkey See Monkey Do senerio - creating unsafe traveling conditions. Everyone needs to slow down and yes the speed limit needs to be reduced and just because you drive a nice omaha plated Lexus and seem to feel you are "very important" - you too need to obey the rules. "

 karen lauren - Minneaplis wrote on May 13, 2008 12:40 pm:
" How did the driver lose control?

Also, note a correction to my previous post. The Ram driver's correct name being Steven (previously noted as Thomas). Steven has been especially on my heart last night; through the coming days I will include Synder and April in prayers as well.

...casting the shadow of our burdens behind us is a life long journey.
"

 Jessica wrote on May 13, 2008 3:39 pm:
" Tayler Snyder is my cousin, and we thank you all for your blessings, and to make matters worse for our family, they were headed to Colorado, because a loved one there died unexpectedly, and they were headed to a funeral. Now, there is another to be planned and a long road is a head of them. Please keep our family in your prayers, for they are well accepted and God Bless everyone for there help. "

 Scooter wrote on May 13, 2008 5:54 pm:
" Great question Karen..."What was the reason that the 1st driver lost control"? I drive though this mess of a highway all the time plus others in 7 States. I am totally amazed of what I see everyday on the highways. It just scares the heck out of me when I see our younger people more involved with the Cell Phone texting and I can say texting because I see their thumb going a mile a minute and the car even faster. So the big question is...What distracted the 1st driver, mechanical, others in the car, Cell phone or driving beyond their capabilities? "

 MP wrote on May 13, 2008 7:23 pm:
" The Nebraska State Patrol is always out between Lincoln and Omaha 24/7. It's is the most patroled road in the state. But they cant pull over everyone that speeds and breaks the law. So don't blame them for this.

The state needs photo radar. If you don't know what the is they park a van on the side of the road and it clocks every car and record the speed and the plate number. If you speeding then they send you the ticket. It's a lot safer to the officer.

But then again if everyone paid attention to what was going on out there and did the speed limit posted we would have to read about this stuff. "

 Just a thought... wrote on May 13, 2008 10:03 pm:
" Maybe the HIGH WINDS played into the first accident yesterday....she could have been blown off the road if she was in a smaller vehicle. "

 GT wrote on May 14, 2008 12:53 am:
" Bless you Karen for the compassionate postings and thank all of you for the prayers and thoughts. Three is often too many possible conditions to every situation that often can or will never be known as well as there is always more to every story that what appears at first. In this case, Dawn Reiter left behind two very beautiful and wonderful daughters back in Wisconsin who at this moment are grieving deeply for the unexpected and tragic loss of their mother. Dawn was also a grandmother to a very precious granddaughter. Many others who knew and loved her. I believe all will find some sense of comfort in Karen’s compassionate and non judgmental comments. Thank you for being there, for lending a hand, and for posting what you did. "

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